History News Network

Departments

A gold elixir of youth in the 16th century French court [video 12 minutes]

Source: BMJ (12-31-09)

Miracle beauty products may be a staple Christmas present today, but they're not a recent invention. Diane de Poitiers, a French noble woman and mistress of Henry II of France, tried to use gold to preserve her looks - in alchemical law, gold was immutable, and alchemists and apothecaries created various potions to pass this gift onto their customers.

For Christmas, the BMJ has made a video about a French research team's investigations of Diane's remains, and its discovery that the gold she used to preserve her youth was actually slowly poisoning her.

Posted on Sunday, December 20, 2009 at 7:50 AM | Comments (0) | Return

Home Newsletter Submissions Advertising Donations Archives Internships About Us FAQs Contact Us All Articles